Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – the North American leg of their tour supporting their 15th studio album, Push the Sky Away.
June 28, 2014 — Jubilee Auditorium, Calgary, Canada
Ticket price: $49.50 CAD
Having just returned to Calgary after spending the past year travelling across the United States and Mexico, I discovered that Nick Cave was about to make a stop in town. Without really knowing what to expect from the show, I quickly grabbed a ticket through Ticketmaster for his upcoming performance at the Jubilee Auditorium.
Cave was one of those artists I had always respected from a distance but had never seen live, this was his firs concert ever in Calgary. The opportunity seemed too good to pass up, especially after being away from Calgary for so long. With little more than curiosity and a sense of anticipation, I headed to the Jubilee Auditorium eager to find out what kind of experience awaited. The 2,523 seats of the venue were all occupied, no vacant seat in the house.
The Calgary Connection: While The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is best known for its starring roles from Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck, it also brought Australian musician Nick Cave to the Canadian Prairies. The film was shot at numerous locations in and around Calgary and Edmonton, whose landscapes provided the sweeping frontier scenery seen throughout the movie. Cave’s involvement extended beyond co-writing the film’s haunting score with Warren Ellis. During the Alberta shoot, he also appeared on screen in a brief cameo, performing as a saloon singer in one of the film’s memorable scenes.
About ten songs into Friday night’s performance at Calgary’s Jubilee Auditorium, Australian legend Nick Cave quietly murmured ‘God is in the house,’ to a crowd that had become completely still. Performing the understated title track from ‘No More Shall We Part’ (2001)—a welcome surprise in the setlist—Cave sat at the piano, accompanied by the refined support of his six-piece Bad Seeds. The moment carried a sense of calm beauty and near-sacred reverence.
Yet only moments earlier, the atmosphere had been dramatically different. During a ferocious rendition of the unsettling 1984 track ‘From Her to Eternity’, Cave had plunged into the audience, climbing onto a row of theatre seats while fans reached toward him from every direction. The spectacle resembled some warped, feverish version of a religious stage production.
For an artist whose work has explored faith, sin, redemption, and human frailty for more than three decades, the religious undertones felt entirely fitting. Throughout the evening, Cave delivered a performance that often felt spiritual in nature—sometimes playful, sometimes deeply intense. The world of Nick Cave has always been populated not only by God and saints, but also by outcasts, criminals, temptresses, drunks, and devils.
At his first-ever appearance in Calgary, Nick Cave delivered a masterclass in both showmanship and musical power. At 56, he displayed remarkable energy, keeping the audience engaged from beginning to end. Frequently perched at the very edge of the stage, he sang while clasping the hands of fans below, evoking the image of a charismatic preacher ministering to his congregation.
The set leaned heavily on the band’s then-recent album ‘Push the Sky Away’ (2013). Cave made his entrance to the restrained atmosphere of opener ‘We No Who U R’, but the evening truly came alive with the second song, the haunting and slowly building ‘Jubilee Street’. Bathed initially in cool blue lighting, the stage transformed as the song intensified. By its thunderous climax, everything glowed a deep red, and Cave appeared like a cabaret singer descending into the underworld.
Although his origins lie in Australia’s raw punk scene, Cave has always possessed too much theatrical flair and appreciation for drama to be confined by punk’s minimalist ethos. The same is true of the Bad Seeds, whose subtle musicianship often hides beneath their formidable wall of sound.
Over the years, the band has perfected a balance between swagger and chaos, building songs toward explosive peaks of noise and feedback. Much of that sonic force came courtesy of Warren Ellis, whose arsenal of stringed instruments and intense stage presence helped drive blistering performances of classics such as ‘Stagger Lee’ and ‘Red Right Hand’. At times, the sheer volume and intensity threatened to overpower the venue’s sound system.
Because Cave remains more of a cult figure than a mainstream hitmaker, some longtime fans may have left wishing for a few different selections. Personally, I would have welcomed additional material from the 1992 masterpiece ‘Henry’s Dream’ or perhaps a track from ‘Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!’ (2008). Still, such complaints feel minor when compared with the overall quality of the evening.
The concert was packed with memorable moments. Tender performances of ‘Into My Arms’ and ‘The Ship Song’ were every bit as beautiful as expected, while fiery versions of ‘The Mercy Seat’ and ‘Papa Won’t Leave You, Henry’ delivered the kind of explosive energy that has long defined Cave’s live shows.
The performance blew past my expectations and vaulted straight to the top of my already impressive list of concerts by world-class artists.
Opening the night was comedian and musician Reggie Watts, whose inventive blend of surreal humor, looping vocal arrangements, and one-man-band experimentation proved to be an inspired choice. As fans gradually filled the Jubilee Auditorium, Watts entertained with sharp observations about Calgary and a performance style that could not have been more different from Cave’s.
Rather than competing with the headliner, Watts carved out his own space entirely. His set showcased both his comedic instincts and impressive musical abilities, leaving the impression that he could easily carry a full Calgary performance of his own—and hopefully will in the future.
(As of 2026 Nick Cave has not returned to perform in Calgary.)
Setlist: We Know Who UR, Jubilee Street, Tupelo, Red Right Hand, The Weeping Song, Mermaids, From Her To Eternity, West Country Girl, Into My Arms, God Is In The House, Higgs Boson Blues, The Mercy Seat, Stagger Lee, Push The Sky Away. Encore: The Ship Song, Papa Won’t Leave You Henry, The Lyre Of Orpheus .
